RWBY side story: The journies of Lan, Ch1
by crack976
Summary: The beginning of the story of Lan, his still but a child now. An old man from an ancient order tries to bring him to safety, with an army of Grimm hunting them down. Will they be able to escape or will the story end here? I would appreciate if you could give me some constructive criticism, so I can make better stories in the future.


RWBY side story, the journeys of Lan

Chapter 1 Flickering Lights

Ansel was breathing hard, his back against a large oak tree. The Grimm were after him, and he knew he wouldn't elude them forever. Ansel was an old man with a long white beard and a bald head, he was rather muscular for his age, and was wearing black robes and had his head covered with its hood. It was a cold autumn night, deep in the wilds, far from any of the 4 kingdoms; he knew no one would come to help him. If he were alone he would have fought them to his dying breath with the weapon he had taken from the armory, a hybrid crossbow , that could split into twin pickaxes, but he couldn't afford to now, what he had with him was far more important than his insignificant life. The boy lay asleep tucked inside his coat, unaware of the approaching peril. He smiled as he gazed at the boy's face, the young lad couldn't have been more than 3 years old. How did things go wrong so fast?

They should have been safe back at headquarters with the advanced Dust shield surrounding it. How did the Grimm break through after all these years? He knew the answer, knew it but refused to believe it. There had been a Grimm that was different from the others, one that looked human. It had ripped through the barrier like it was tissue paper, and led an army of Grimm to attack them. The rest of his comrades had stayed behind to make sure that at least that beast was dead. They were the best of the best, ex-hunters and ex-members of various combat factions throughout Vytal, "They will for sure be able to kill it" he thought, but the sheer number of Grimm that had poured into their headquarters had simply been too much. Their deaths were inevitable, but they would not be in vain. He would get the boy to safety and alert the rest of mankind to this new threat.

His breathing had leveled now, and he felt able to run again. He once again took off through the dense undergrowth, sped along with the weight of his mission.

Suddenly an ear-splitting howl split the night; they still sounded like they were a little ways off, but they would soon close in on him. He had to hurry to the docks; hopefully its force field would still be operational, if so they would be safe long enough for him to prepare a small boat for the both of them. The noises behind were getting louder and more varied, he heard the howls of Beowolves, Cries of Nevermores, and the roars of giant Baskervilles. He doubled his pace, praying he would make it to the docks before they were upon him.

He dashed in to a clearing and stopped in his tracks. Standing before him was the king of the forest, a giant boarbatusk the size of a small house nicknamed "The Major, unlike normal boarbatusks the Major had protection on its stomach as well. It had its eyes on him, its mouth salivating in anticipation of its meal. Ansel cursed his fortune; he couldn't hope to defeat a beast that had ended the lives of many veteran hunters. But he had one option left; he had taken a small supply of dust bolts with him he had fled headquarters, which were linked with a detonator he carried. "They wouldn't be able to harm the Major" he thought, "but they may be able to disorient it for a few minutes." Just as this thought passed through his mind, Major charged at him full speed, determined to enjoy its meal as soon it could. Ansel dove to the side, making sure to cover the child with his arm, and quickly loaded the bolts into his crossbow. The force of the Major's charge made it very difficult to change its direction, but the beast quickly planted its feet and turned around to face his prey. But this split second gave Ansel the time he needed to quickly fire off all the bolts that were in the crossbow. The bolts were aimed at many of the gaps in the Major's armor and upon striking the hide, stuck to it. This seemed to confuse the major for a moment as it inspected the new protrusions sticking out of its body. Using this time, Ansel quickly stuck the boy into a more stable position in his robes. He had to get out of here quick, the rest of the Grimm were letting close, and if they caught up all would be lost.

With a thundering squeal the Major charged at him once again. This time Ansel was prepared. He leapt into the air then, using the trees as springboard, leapt onto the major's back. "I hear your hide is pretty tough" Ansel said, disconnecting his crossbow into the pickaxe form, "But smashing stuff like that is what these babies were made for", with that Ansel began striking the hard shell with the pickaxes, each blow infused with aura. The Major squealed as bits of its armor were chipped off, shaking and thrashing, trying to get Ansel off. The vibrations were so intense Ansel couldn't find the time to use his pickaxes any more, but he had done his job. There were now many small notches in the Major's armor, just large enough to fit a bolt. Using the momentum from the Major's thrashing, Ansel leapt from up onto a nearby tree branch, then fired off the rest of his bolts, each sticking in place to the holes he had made. The Major turned to look up at him and growled, preparing to smash through the tree trunk and bring Ansel to the ground. "To late piggy" Ansel said, triggering the detonator. Every bolt stuck on the Major exploded, filling the forest with multi-colored light. The Major squealed in pain and surprise as it's armor splintered, then it collapsed to the ground, dazed.

After quickly checking to make sure the Major truly was incapacitated, Ansel leapt from the tree and took off in the direction of the dock. "I'm getting too old for this" he thought while sighing, but feeling the boy's slow breathing, he doubled his pace determined to make it before the Grimm got to them. An ear-piercing squeal pierced the night, whipping has head back Ansel saw the major spinning towards him, its spines screaming bloody murder. Ansel leapt sideways, but not soon enough, he was struck in the shoulder set flying back towards a tree. Clutching the boy in his arms, Ansel took the full brunt of the collision with his back, there was a cracking noise and he screamed out in pain. He collapsed to the ground breathing hard; he had used up most of his aura cracking the Major's armors, and now had almost none left. Then the Major was upon him, quickly seizing Ansel's arm in its jaws, crushing bone and rending flesh. Ansel screamed in pain, frustration, and despair. He had failed and now both he and the boy would die. The world was slowly growing darker, his life's blood flowing out from the wound. Things started getting brighter then, "I must be approaching the afterlife" Ansel thought with despair, shame clawing at his mind at the knowledge of his failed mission. He opened his eyes a small crack expecting to see the great beyond, but to his surprise, the light was coming from inside his robe. The sudden light had surprised the Major and made it back off a few steps, it now eyed Ansel with a cautious eye, as if making sure nothing strange would happen. "The boy" Ansel whispered, "This must be his doing". Ansel quickly opened his coat, wanting to see what the boy was doing. The child was still fast asleep, but was emitting a strange blue glow. The Major grunted, now believing there was not present danger, and charged straight at the two, its tusks ready to impale the two onto the tree. Suddenly the light surrounding the boy intensified, and then burst forth in a brilliant flash. Ansel covered his eyes, temporary blinded. He heard a slamming sound and a squeal, and afterwards a constant scuffling noise. He slowly removed his hands from his face, and was stunned by what he saw. Standing before him was the simulacrum of a man, formed of pulsating blue energy. It had stopped the Major's fierce charge, which was capable of plowing down even the strongest of hunters, with one hand which was fastened firmly around one of the creatures tusks. The Major was squealing and struggling, trying in vain to pull its tusk free. The strange being turned its head and looked at Ansel, then nodded its head as if in thanks.

Turning back to the Major the being seized its head with his other hand, then with a squelching splattering sound, ripped the Major's tusk out of its head. Then with a deft motion, too fast for the untrained eye, the being plunged the tip of the tusk into the Major's right eye. The Major reeled back, squealing in pain, trying to get away from this new foe. The being stepped forward, the blue energy swirling in the palm of his hand. Seeing this with its one good eye the Major turned to run, but too late. The thrust out his palm and struck the Major in the side. The resulting explosion blasted the Major through the forest, smashing through tree after tree like they were nothing but weeds. Squealing, the Major flew off, far in the opposite direction, vanishing from sight, a few moments later there was a low boom, and a cloud of dust rose from the forest, miles away from their current position.

The being turned back to Ansel, then kneeled down, looking at the boy in Ansel's arms. It then reached out its hand and touched Ansel's wound, there was a flash of light, and Ansel cried out at the searing pain that soon followed, after the stinging had faded he looked down and was amazed to see his arm in perfect condition. The being nodded at him, then reached out its hand and touched the boy on the forehead, then like a mist being funneled into a vacuum; the being was sucked into the boy from the point of contact. The boy shifted uncomfortably in Ansel's arms, and then let out a long deep belch, smiled, and shifted into a more comfortable position.

Ansel was stunned, that light and that power, "This boy is more important than we could dreamed" he thought, hope swelling in his breast "I must get him to safety, somewhere he can reach his full potential". The hunter academies, those would be perfect. He would meet many people, and hone his skills with the best of the best. With his goal firmly in mind, he picked up the boy and began running in the direction of the docks once again.

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After running for what seemed an impossibly long period of time, he finally broke through the tree line. There before him were the docks, he breathed a sigh of relief and ran up to them. The dock consisted of a small two story wooden boathouse with no walls; there was a small storage of supplies on the first level in case of emergencies, as well as the boats which could be pushed down a ramp into the water, parallel to the pier. But first he had to activate the dust force field generator located on the second floor. He dashed up the stairs, and then found the generator, wrapped tightly under a water-proof cloth; it was a small cylindrical device with an opening on the left side to insert the dust crystals to power, and a simple on and off switch on the other side. He checked its systems and found them to be in perfect working order; he picked up a crate of dust crystals lying next to the generator, and dumped most of them into the generator's energy chamber. He then pulled down on the ignition switch, and the generator hummed to life. A small antenna extended out from the top, and fired a beam of light straight through the roof. After reaching a certain height, the energy began to spread out and curve downward, covering the dock in its protective embrace.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ansel walked down the stairs, finally able to relax. He took the boy out of his robes, and then wrapped him a blanket he found in the supply cache, he then placed the boy in of their best boats, an advanced model with autopilot functions, outfitted with a small dust force field generator and a special sonic disruptor to keep aquatic Grimm away. He made sure all the functions of the boat were in perfect order, than began to pile supplies into it.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech filled the air, coming from the direction of the forest. Ansel whipped around and saw that the Grimm had caught up, a menagerie of different monstrosities leered out at him from the forest. Ansel wasn't worried though; he had charged the force field generator with enough dust to last the whole night if need be, and he only needed a few more minutes to get ready to leave. But to his surprise the beasts did not charge forward, instead they parted forming a narrow path between the two groups. The next scene froze Ansel's blood in his veins. The humanoid Grimm emerged from the groups and stood before him, its body splattered with blood. When it had first attacked he hadn't gotten a good look at it, but now he saw it in its full glory. It was about the average height of a man, its body was completely back with pieces of black armor jutting out all over its body at strange angles, and it had sharpened claws at the end of each digit. It seemed to have a spiky head of hair, but on closer inspection were small spikes adorning its cranium. But the most daunting sight was the 6 crystals protruding from its back, each pulsing with red and black light, with tendrils of shadow wrapping each of them in a twisted embrace. The same light from the crystals were also emanating from the creature's eyes and mouth, lighting up the path toward the dock.

There was no time to supply anymore, Ansel leapt into the boat and quickly started it, entering the coordinates for the nearest kingdom into the autopilot system and prepping its force field. He then got out and pushed the boat into the water. There was a sudden crashing sound, the humanoid Grimm was standing in from of the force field; the crystals on its back were pulsating and sending reddish-black tinges of energy all over the creature's body. It claws raked against the field, the energy reacting with the dust field. Cracks were beginning to form; it wouldn't be long before the creature got through. Ansel knew what he had to do; he had to keep that thing here for as long as he could, so that the boat could carry the boy to safety. The boat hummed to life in the water and began to move forward, following the preprogrammed course. Ansel reached inside his robes and pulled out his remaining dust crystals, fitting them all into dust-powered explosives he had taken from the supply cash. There was a smashing sound as the best broke through the barrier; an explosion rocked the floor as the force field generator exploded. Ansel pulled out his pickaxes and charged at the Grimm, channeling the last bits of his aura into the tips. It was over in an instant. With a lighting fast movement the Grimm dove forward and drove its hand right through Ansel's stomach. Ansel cried out in pain, blood bursting from his mouth. But then he smiled, grabbing the Grimm's arm with one hand, he then opened his coat with the other, revealing all the dust bombs he had prepared. "Got you now you bastard" he said with a smile, and triggered the detonator in his coat. The explosion blew the boathouse to pieces and sent the Grimm flying outside, crashing into a group of Beowolves and tearing them to pieces with its armor. In a few moments it was up again, seemingly unfazed by the blast. It walked slowly back to the smoking remains of the boathouse, searching for its quarry. Lying in the middle of the wreckage, his skin charred black by the blast was Ansel. "Too late monster" he said with a smile, "he's gone now". Looking towards the sea, they could both see the boat speeding away from the shore, faster than any of the Nevermores could fly. Ansel grinned, staring his executor in the face. He had completed his final mission and had no more regrets. The Grimm stared down at him; then smiled. A chill ran down Ansel's spine, the Grimm weren't supposed to have souls they couldn't respond like this to human words. Suddenly the crystals on the creatures back began pulsating, releasing tendrils of crackling energy that covered the creature's body. The Grimm opened its mouth and the energy began flowing towards the open orifice, fusing together into a quivering black ball of darkness. "Wait" Ansel spluttered "Sto-". It was too late. The ball burst forth from the creature's mouth towards the boat, speeding across the water like a shooting star. It collided with the force field, energy crackling against energy, the field trying in vain to hold it back, and then it detonated. The area where the boat had been was engulfed in the dark blast, the sea parting from the force of the explosion. In less than a minute it was over, and the sea was empty, no sign that the boat was ever there remained.

"No", Ansel choked, he had failed the boy was dead, and this creature free to walk the world unchecked. All he could hope for now would be a quick end to his suffering. The creature looked down at him, the grin still visible on its face. "Well hurry it up", Ansel breathed, "I don't have all night". The creature lifted up his hand, but instead of bringing it down and ending Ansel's life, it grabbed one of the crystals on its back and with a shattering noise tore it out. Then raising it above its head like a ritual dagger, it drove the crystal into Ansel's chest. Ansel cried out in pain as the gem pierced his heart, "At least it will be over soon" he sadly thought. But something was wrong; there was a sudden burning sensation where the crystal had pierced him. He glanced down and saw black tendrils spreading out from where he had been pierced. It spread quickly over his body, first covering his arms and legs. Ansel begin flailing with the little strength he had left, but his muscles wouldn't respond to him, his limbs were moving, but not by his will, they were no longer his. Ansel screamed as the umbral strands began creeping up his neck, eventually covering his head. In a few  
minutes the pain was gone, and Ansel looked out across the sea with eyes that were no longer his. The thing that was now in control of his body, and through its eyes Ansel saw what he had become. A monster, another humanoid Grimm. He screamed in frustration, but it was a sound that only he heard in the depths of his mind. His body now belonged to the Grimm, his soul bound inside it like a prisoner. Despair coursed through Ansel's soul, he would now have to watch as the creature that controlled his body ended the lives of countless innocents. The two Grimms raised their head and roared, elated with their success and the addition of a new comrade. But out of the corner of the creature's eye, Ansel saw something, a sight that the new owner of his body paid no attention to in its moment of triumph. A faint blue glow, far out at sea, that was slowly being carried farther and farther away by the waves.


End file.
